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CHAPTER - 12

THE EXCRETORY SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION
Cells produce water and carbon dioxide as by-products
of metabolic breakdown of sugars, fats, and proteins.
Chemical groups such as nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorous
must be stripped, from the large molecules to which they
were formerly attached, as part of preparing them for energy
conversion. The continuous production of metabolic wastes
establishes a steep concentration gradient across the plasma
membrane, causing wastes to diffuse out of cells and into
the extracellular fluid.
Single-celled organisms have most of their wastes
diffuse out into the outside environment. Multicellular
organisms, and animals in particular, must have a specialized
organ system to concentrate and remove wastes from the
interstinal fluid into the blood capillaries and eventually
deposit that material at a collection point for removal entirely
from the body.

Amphibians and mammals secrete urea that they form

in their liver. Amino groups are turned into ammonia, which
in turn is converted to urea, dumped into the blood and
concentrated by the kidneys.

(B) WATER AND SALT BALANCE

The excretory system is responsible for regulating

water balance in various body fluids.
Osmoregulation refers to the state aquatic animals are
in: they are surrounded by freshwater and must constantly
deal with the influx of water. Animals, such as crabs, have
an internal salt concentration very similar to that of the
surrounding ocean. Such animals are known as osmoconformers, as there is little water transport between the inside
of the animal and the isotonic outside environment.
Marincompositione vertebrates, however, have internal
concentrations of salt that are about one-third of the
surrounding seawater. They are said to be osmoregulators.
Osmoregu-lators face two problems: prevention of water
loss from the body and prevention of salts diffusing into the
EXCRETORY SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS
body. Fish deal with this by passing water out of their tissues
ANIMALS
through their gills by osmosis and salt through their gills by
Excretory systems regulate the chemical composition active transport.
of body fluids by removing metabolic wastes and retaining
Cartilaginous fish have a greater salt concentration than
the proper amounts of water, salts, and nutrients. seawater, causing water to move into the shark by osmosis;
Components of this system in vertebrates include the kidneys, this water is used for excretion. Freshwater fish must prevent
liver, lungs, and skin.
water gain and salt loss. They do not drink water, and have
Not all animals use the same routes or excrete their their skin covered by a thin mucus. Water enters and leaves
wastes the same way as humans do. Excretion applies to through the gills and the fish excretory system produces
metabolic waste products that cross a plasma membrane. large amounts of dilute urine. Terrestrial animals use a variety
Elimination is the removal of feces.
of methods to reduce water loss: living in moist
environments, developing impermeable body coverings,
A. NITROGEN WASTES
production of more concentrated urine. Water loss can be
Nitrogen wastes are by product of protein metabolism. considerable: a person in a 100 degree F temperature loses
Amino groups are removed from amino acids prior to energy 1 liter of water per hour.
conversion. The NH 2 (amino group) combines with a
hydrogen ion (proton) to form ammonia (NH3).
EXCRETORY SYSTEM FUNCTIONS
Ammonia is very toxic and usually is excreted directly
1. Collect water and filter body fluids.
by marine animals. Terrestrial animals usually need to
2. Remove and concentrate waste products from
conserve water. Ammonia is converted to urea, a compound
body fluids and return other substances to body
the body can tolerate at higher concentrations than ammonia.
Birds and insects secrete uric acid that they make through
fluids as necessary for homeostasis.
large energy expenditure but little water loss.
3. Eliminate excretory products from the body.
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INVERTEBRATE EXCRETORY ORGANS

of which 178.5 liters are reabsorbed. The remaining 1.5 liters

forms urine.

Many invertebrates such as flatworms use a

nephridium as their excretory organ. At the end of each blind
tubule of the nephridium is a ciliated flame cell. As fluid passes
down the tubule, solutes are reabsorbed and returned to the
body fluids.
Body fluids are drawn into the Malphigian tubules by
osmosis due to large concentrations of potassium inside the
tubule. Body fluids pass back into the body, nitrogenous
wastes empty into the insects gut. Water is reabsorbed and
waste is expelled from the insect.

(B) URINE PRODUCTION

VERTEBRATES EXCRETORY ORGANS

ALL vertebrates have paired kidneys. Excretion is not
the primary function of kidneys. Kidneys regulate body fluid
levels as a primary duty, and remove wastes as a secondary
one.

1. Filtration in the glomerulus and nephron capsule.

2. Reabsorption in the proximal tubule.
3. Tubular secretion in the Loop of Henle.
Medulla (pyramids)
Cortex

Minor calyce

Renal artery

Papilla of medulla

Renal vein
Major calyx
Pelvis

Capsule

THE HUMAN EXCRETORY SYSTEM

The urinary system is made-up of the kidneys, ureters,
bladder, and urethra. The nephron, an evolutionary
modification of the nephridium, is the kidneys functional
unit. Waste is filtered from the blood and collected as urine
in each kidney. Urine leaves the kidneys by ureters, and
collects in the bladder. The bladder can distend to store urine
that eventually leaves through the urethra.

(A) THE NEPHRON

The nephron consists of a cup-shaped capsule
containing capillaries and the glomerulus, and a long renal
tube. Blood flows into the kidney through the renal artery,
which branches into capillaries associated with the
glomerulus. Arterial pressure causes water and solutes from
the blood to filter into the capsule. Fluid flows through the
proximal tubule, which include the loop of Henle, and then
into the distal tubule. The distal tubule empties into a
collecting duct. Fluids and solutes are returned to the
capillaries that surround the nephron tubule.
The nephron has three functions:
1. Glomerular filtration of water and solutes from
the blood.
2. Tubular reabsorption of water and conserved
molecules back into the blood.
3. Tubular secretion of ions and other waste
products from surrounding capillaries into the
distal tubule.
Nephrons filter 125 ml of body fluid per minute;
filtering the entire body fluid component 16 times each day.
In a 24 hour period nephrons produce 180 liters of filtrate,
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Ureter

(C) COMPONENTS OF THE NEPHRON

8 Glomerulus: mechanically filters blood
8 Bowmans Capsule: mechanically filters blood
8 Proximal Convoluted Tubule: Reabsorbs 75% of
the water, salts, glucose, and amino acids
8 Loop of Henle: Countercurrent exchange, which
maintains the concentration gradient
8 Distal Convoluted Tubule: Tubular secretion of
H ions, potassium, and certain drugs.

(D) KIDNEY STONES

In some cases, excess wastes crystallize as kidney
stones. They grow and can become a painful irritant that
may require surgery or ultrasound treatments. Some stones
are small enough to be forced into the urethra, others are
the size of huge, massive boulders.

(E) KIDNEY FUNCTIONS

Kidneys perform a number of homeostatic functions:
1. Maintain volume of extracellular fluid
2. Maintain ionic balance in extracellular fluid
3. Maintain pH and osmotic concentration of the
extracellular fluid.
4. Excrete toxic metabolic by-products such as urea,
ammonia, and uric acid.

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HORMONE CONTROL OF
WATER AND SALT
Water reabsorption is controlled by the antidiuretic
hormone (ADH) in negative feedback.
ADH is released from the pituitary gland in the brain.
Dropping levels of fluid in the blood signal the hypothalamus
to cause the pituitary to release ADH into the blood. ADH
acts to increase water absorption in the kidneys. This puts
more water back in the blood, increasing the concentration
of the urine. When too much fluid is present in the blood,
sensors in the heart signal the hypothalamus to cause a
reduction of the amounts of ADH in the blood. This increases
the amount of water absorbed by the kidneys, producing

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large quantities of a more dilute urine. Aldosterone, a hormone

secreted by the kidneys, regulates the transfer of sodium
from the nephron to the blood. When sodium levels in the
blood fall, aldosterone is released into the blood, causing more
sodium to pass from the nephron to the blood. This causes
water to flow into the blood by osmosis. Renin is released
into the blood to control aldosterone.

DISRUPTION OF KIDNEY FUNCTION

Infection, environmental toxins such as mercury, and
genetic disease can have devastating results by causing
disruption of kidney function. Many kidney problems can
be treated by dialysis, where a machine acts as a kidney.
Kidney transplants are an alternative to dialysis.

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